Symbiotic
by Archemedies
Summary: In order to contain a deadly virus, team RWBY is sent in to destroy it at the source. However, a chance encounter between team leader Ruby Rose, and the elusive and deadly Alex Mercer, leads to both a conflict of loyalty's, and humanity. Rated T for gore, may change later on if the gore gets excessive (As it very well may, this is Prototype after all)
1. Chapter 1: Outbreak

**A/N Hey guys, Archemedies here, I recently finished prototype 2, and, the game inspired me. I was in a writing mood, and inspiration for my FNAF/RWBY sequel just wasn't coming to me. So, I decided to start this. Rest assured the sequel will be coming, just...Later. Anyway, review, fav, or follow if you feel like it, and, Peace! **

Chapter 1: Outbreak.

Ruby sat on her bunk bed, eyes fixed on the small T.V that Ozpin had had installed on the wall of their dorm, for their outstanding work in the events leading up to the breach, and the hordes of Grimm swarming the city. She didn't really think they deserved it, as they hadn't stopped the breach from occurring as they should of, but she also wasn't about to argue with the headmaster. The T.V was currently showing a news report, that Blake (Who was also in the room, on her own bed) had asked to see. Considering Ruby had had more then her fair share of screen-time, that had mostly consisted of the local kids channel, she had handed the remote over to Blake. The news had worried them both.

"The Schnee corporation is so far denying reports that the shooting of one of their scientists was their own work, however, there have been numerous eye witness statements that soldiers dressed in white armor, adorned with the Schnee logo, had been seen exiting the alleyway in which the shooting took place, armed with rifles. The Schnee Corporation also have provided no reasons as to why the body of the scientist, one Alex Mercer, has been taken. The only reason that was given was for "The safety of the city" Alex worked for the genetic research branch of the Schnee corp, and they have not given any reason why the city was in danger, if it ever was. More as we have it, on this controversial story"

Ruby and Blake looked at each other, both equally confused. Ruby was the first to break the silence.

"I didn't even know the Schnee Corp had a "genetic research" branch"

Blake answered her with: "Yeah, they do. But they've always been very secretive about what goes on in their labs. Definitely nothing good, that's for sure. Although whatever it is, if its enough to make Schnee shoot their own men..." Ruby and Blake traded glances.

"Still, its not absolutely certain Schnee shot him, right?"

"I guess..."

The next day

"In the news today, Schnee corporation Private military contractors, have set up a barricade, and sealed off several blocks surrounding the supposed place the shooting took place, denying entry to any and all that attempt to enter the area, even those who live there, on supposed safety grounds. We have a reporter, Cyril, on the ground, currently on location along with several members of the local police force. More from him, now"

The camera view switched to what appeared to be a handhold set, that was currently fixed on a Vale police officer, who was talking very animatedly to a man wearing full combat gear, and a gas mask, all of it in startling white. Printed on the front of his bulletproof vest was the Schnee logo, printed in black. The most noticeable thing about him (In the circumstances) was the large, fearsome assault rifle, that he carried with one hand as he waved the police off with the other.

"Thanks for the hand off Lisa, here I am, with the aforementioned officers of the law, who are currently having a rather heated discussion with the Schnee Private Military Contractors, who are attempting to refuse them entry"

The camera moved closer, bringing the two men's words into audible range.

"Goddammit, you can't refuse my men entry! This is a suburb of Vale, and we are the Vale police, we can't let you do this!"

The Contractor responded in a level voice, slightly muffled by his mask, but still understandable.

"I'm sorry sir, but you need to turn round, and return to your station, there is a serious security threat that we are uniquely equipped to deal with. Please, just leave this to us..." His sentence was cut off by garbled static from his radio, that was clipped to his vest. "Hold on sir...Viper Two-Two, is that you? How copy?"

"Sir, we are at the point of release, no signs of infection yet...Hold on sir, I see something moving, over"

"Copy Two-Two, move in to investigate, over"

The police officer seemed offended at being blanked.

"What are you people talking about? Point of release? Infection?"

The four girls traded looks. Up until then, they'd all sat quietly, riveted to the screen by the unfolding drama. But now, they were beginning to worry over the words being traded on screen.

"Look, I'm sorry sir, you need to turn aroun-" He was cut off by a loud, sudden and chilling sound from his radio. Gunshots. And a lot of them.

"Viper Two-Two? Viper Two-Two, how copy?"

"Sir, we are under attack from unknown hostiles, they appear to be infected with whatever it is Mercer was carrying, and...Oh, oh god, they got Jefferson! Oh god, the're ripping him apart!" The gunshots were joined by the sounds of screams. "We are moving Sir, we can't stay here, there's to many of them!" The sounds stopped, replaced by the pounding of several pairs of feet, and ragged breathing. There was a sudden, sharp intake of air.

"Viper Two-Two, Identify hostiles! Viper!"

"Oh god, they've blocked the exit...There's too many of them, fire! Fire open fire!" The gunshots returned, quickly joined, and then replaced by screams.

"Viper? Viper? How copy? Viper!"

The seeming commander of the PMC's pulled his radio from its clip, and shook it, as if that would somehow help his men. The screams stopped soon enough, replaced with crunches and tearing sounds, best left unexplored.

"What the hell...Viper!"

The police officer shook his head, before saying: "Look, whatever's in there, we need to go check it out!"

The PMC made a negative gesture with his hand, but before he could speak, one of his men shouted: "Look Sir! Civilians!"

The camera and the arguing men, all turned to see what the troop was talking about.

The focus of attention was a group of people, staggering down the road on the other side of the barricade On closer inspection, however, they realized, they weren't people any longer. They were all dressed in casual clothes, all ages, sizes, and races, both human and Faunas. And they were all horribly disfigured. They were covered in boils and open wounds, some were horrifically bloated, and some had shriveled to the point their bones showed at the joints. The police officer muttered:

"What are they?"

To which the PMC answered:

"The're what killed Viper. Everyone, open fire! And someone get rid of that camera!" All the troops turned, except one, who took a couple of steps towards the camera before a swipe of his hand sent the camera to the ground. It miraculously landed facing the soldiers, as they stepped up to the barricade and began to pour fire into the approaching mob. People began to break and fall, blood spraying, and then the camera was smashed, the video feed dissolving into static.

Yang was the first to speak. "What the hell did we just see?"

Blake answered her. "I'm not sure, but whatever it was, its serious. People were dying"

Ruby pitched in with: "Yeah! We should help!"

"As much as I wish to trust in the Schnee corporation, they may need help from Beacon. After all, we are some of the best trained fighters in the city" They all turned to look at Weiss. They were distracted, however, by the T.V suddenly crackling, before showing the visage of their headmaster, Ozpin.

"Team RWBY, come to my office please. Time is of the essence"


	2. Chapter 2: Containment

**A/N: Hey there, Archemedies here, with the second chapter of this story. And I have to say, the first chapter got a far better reception than I thought it would. To be honest, I didn't really thing anyone was going to read it. But you guys/gals did, and that gave me the motivation to write the next, longer chapter. And in answer to the first two reviews I got, I am going for a more brutal anti-hero vibe for Mercer, than a douchbag villain. Although I've only actually played the second game, so I'm basing him off his Prototype 2 persona. But less douchy. Oh and Bl4nk: A: Thank you, and B: That is very interesting, I all ways thought it was Mercer that started the virus. But, for the purposes of this story, lets just say he did, because otherwise the story won't make sense. And Tenwing, thanks, although best in the category? Although I'm thankful, I don't think two chapters deserves that mantel. Seriously though, thanks. Anyway, hope you like this chapter, fav, follow, and review if you want, it really makes me want to keep writing. Anyway, this is Archemedies, Signing off.**

Chapter 2: Containment.

Ruby, Blake, Yang, and Weiss stood in front of Professor Ozpins desk, as he sat calmly perusing several files as he sat at his desk. After a few minutes, where they stood quietly, he looked up at them through his dark glasses.

"Did any of you watch the afternoon news?"

Ruby responded before anyone else could: "Umm...Yeah. We all did"

"Then you know there is something terrible going on. Not much is known about what happened, but it appears some kind of virus was released in downtown Vale. This virus appears to mutate those it comes into contact with, leaving them with only the desire to kill and infect. The source of this virus is currently unknown, but it appears have originated within Penn station. Your team will be deployed by bullhead to check the station, and destroy the virus at the source. A group of Schnee corp contractors have already begun an assault on the station, but large numbers of infected are making it hard for them to advance. You will drop in and assist them, understood?"

All the girls chorused: "Yes, professor Ozpin"

"Good. There's a bullhead waiting on the helipad. Good luck, and God speed" With that, he focused on the files on his desk once more. Team RWBY left his office, heading for the helipad.

Within half an hour, they were in the bulkhead, sitting awkwardly with the squad of Schnee troops who where tagging along. Ruby wasn't with the rest of her team, instead standing in the vehicles cockpit, along side the pilot. They stood tensely, until the pilot broke the silence.

"Goddamn. Here's where we cross the quarantine border" He took one hand off the controls to point out the windscreen. Ruby followed is finger, seeing a hastily constructed barricade of wire netting, with a large group of soldiers standing on one side. As she watched, a group of the infected shambled out of a boarded up house on the opposite side of the barricade to the soldiers. The troops opened fire, tearing the hoard to pieces before it even got close to the barricade. As the bullhead continued onward, the barricade and the bodies disappeared from view, replaced with city streets, teeming with walking corpses. As they moved onward, the infected became more numerous, and the roads stranger. Before long, Ruby was seeing buildings covered in strange orange-red gunk, and the asphalt almost completely obscured by the sea of bodies.

"What happened here..." The pilot surprised her by answering her. She hadn't even realized she'd spoken out loud.

"Ain't nobody knows. All I know, is it's gonna take a lot of cleanup before things are back to normal. Oh, would ya look at that. This is your stop"

Ruby peered out the windscreen, catching site of the train station. It was large, with an entrance adorned with columns. Sand bags topped with barbed wire were placed in a semi-circle around the entrance, with a large group of Schnee contractors crouched behind the barricade, pouring fire into the sea of infected that surrounded the encampment. The infected seemed to be having trouble navigating the simple obstacle, unable to climb over it.

"Ok. On the count of three, I'm going to open the hatches" The pilots voice crackled over the intercom system as Ruby went back to join her team mates. "I'll drop your team off, and then I'll drop the ropes, and the troops'll zip down too...Now...One. Two. Three!" On his count, the large hatches on the sides of the bullhead slid open, Yang and Blake leaping out the the left hand door, Weiss and Ruby dropping out the other hatch. They landed hard, before sprinting for the barricade. Some of the infected had been distracted by the sound of the bull heads rotors, meaning they turned and caught sight of Ruby and her team as they ran.

Blake pulled ahead of the others, meaning she reached the infected first. One infected had run ahead of the others upon hearing the bullhead. This infected was dressed in the ragged remains of a Schnee military uniform, armor possessing several holes,and gas mask pushed from its cradle by the bulbous growths that had emerged from his face. On the left shoulder of his uniform was a tag, that read: Viper Two-Two. Blake sprinted to meet him, and as he got close, she leapt into the air, leaving an after image of herself on the ground. The former soldier ran for the image, attempting to seize hold of it. But as he reached it, Blake came down on his head, hopping off him as he crumpled, before repeating the move on the next enemy in line, leaping from head to head until, with one final bound, she sailed through the air, landing with cat-like grace on the other side of the barricade. Weiss followed her example, leaping straight up, landing on a summoned glyph, before hurling herself forward, landing on another, before a glyph appeared behind her. She jump up, placing her feet on the glyph, before firing herself off it, hurtling like a cannonball, skimming the barricade and sliding to a stop.

Yang, as always, went for the brute force approach, sprinting full tilt while swinging wildly, smashing the infected out of her way with buck-shot punches. She continued like that, until she neared the barricade, leaping forward and landing in a handstand before discharging both gauntlets into the ground, arcing over the barbed wire and landing hard enough to crack the concrete. That left Ruby the only one outside the barricade.

_Come on Ruby...You can do this..._

She took a deep breath, before taking Crescent rose from its place on her back, and unfolding it. She spun it a few times, before swinging it around and firing a shot behind herself, snapping forward, towards the lines of the infected. As they sprinted for her, she dropped into a slide, going straight under them, her outstretched boots striking the shins of those in her way, slipping under them as they hit the ground face first. Her momentum spent itself, and she skidded to a stop, almost to the barricade. Yang waved her arms, and the movement distracted her enough that she didn't notice the infected rising to its feet behind he until it let out a guttural growl.

She spun, raising her scythe above herself with both hands. This action just blocked the strange, metallic blade that protruded from the infected's forearm from carving into the top of her head. The blade went up, and swung back down again, sending waves of impact through her arms and shoulders, and forcing her to her knees. She looked up at her attacker, and found a faunas, roughly her height and age. She was dressed in a pair of ripped jeans, and a baggy jumper, both splattered with blood. A pair of torn mouse ears poked out the top of her head, and a white fang mask hung loosely from her face, pushed out of place by the cancerous growths. This person, this girl, used to be someone like her. The infected let out another growl. Used to be. She wasn't a person any longer.

With that thought steeling her resolve, Ruby pulled the trigger of her weapon, using the recoil from the shot to send herself into a spin, her scythe lashing outwards in a tornado of rose petals and torn flesh. The infected girl, and all the infected around were slashed into bloody ribbons, red spraying through the air. Realizing she'd created a temporary space around herself, Ruby spun her scythe behind herself, and fired a round into the ground,sending her self flying. She fired a second shot into the air as she passed over the barricade, slamming into the ground in a burst of rose petals. She stayed in a crouch for a few seconds, petals swirling around her, and her scythe over her shoulders. All the troops ceased fire in favor of staring at her in awestruck silence.

"Schnee Corp' don't pay you asshats to stand around and gawk at little girls who can fight better than all you fools put together. Now, get back to work, before I fire all o' you!"

The soldiers fumbled for their rifles, and hurried back to adding to the wall of lead keeping the infected at bay. The gruff instruction had come from a Schnee trooper, who was now standing in front of all four girls, clutching a radio in one hand, and a grenade launcher in the other.

"I'm guessin' from the moves you four just pulled, you're the team of huntresses-to-be from Beacon?"

Ruby rose from her crouch, answering him as she did so. "Yes, we are. Were going into Penn station to search for the source of the virus"

"Well, good luck with that. Omega team went in there about ten minutes ago. They ceased contact not much later"

Ruby looked askance at her team. "Well, when were in there we'll see if we can find them"

The commander simply checked his launcher, and said: "Well, be my guest. Were staying out here with chopper boy and his squad" He indicated the bullhead, which was currently dropping off the soldiers who'd come with the team. "We'll keep this place evac ready. You get in there, complete your mission, and get out. If you can bring Omega with you, so much the better" He turned away, running to the barricade and adding his grenades to the troops fire power. Ruby shared a glance with her team, who all gave nods. She pushed open the large, double doors, and walked into the station, her team at her back.

As they progressed, they had to step over the bodies of dozens of infected, slaughtered by Omega team on their way in. They continued forward for at least ten more minutes, before they found a body in the white armor of Schnee Corp. He appeared to have been torn apart by the infected, who now lay dead around him, shot down by his squad-mates. They moved onward, eventually coming to another set of double doors. Ruby pushed the door open, and as she stepped into the massive room within, something small and hard bounced off her boot. A glance down confirmed it be a bullet casing. When she looked up from the floor, she found a scene of devastation.

Bodies, all of them in Schnee white, littered the ground, almost none of them in one piece. Ruby gasped at the view, before taking another step into the room, and waving her team forwards. They had similar reactions, Blake muttering under her breath: "Who could have done this...Who would have done this...?"

Yang answered: "Someone with a serious bone to pick with Schnee"

Ruby was about to hush them, but suddenly, terrified shouts began to emanate from small room off to the right. The door to that room was open, and the four of them rushed over, pausing at the threshold. Within, a dark shape was standing over another that was laying on the ground, the source of the shouts.

"Come on Mercer, you're a decent man, right? Right? Mercer?"

The standing shape leaned down, and picked the other up by the throat, lifting it-No, him, up with one hand, apparently without any effort. The team stepped forward, bringing them into visibility. One person was dressed in a pair of jeans, a pair of converse, and a leather jacket with the hood up. He had in one hand, and man in what seemed to be a haz-mat suit, with the Schnee logo emblazoned on his chest. He was the source of the shouting, and had a high-pitched, nasally voice.

"I was a decent man. But I'm not a man anymore. And I have you to thank for that. You and the company you work for. That I used to work for"

The man in the haz-mat suit began to writhe in Mercers grasp. Mercers voice was smooth and deep, and it sent shivers up Ruby's spine.

"Look Mercer, that wasn't my fault, you know?"

"I know. Its not you I'm interested in. It's what you know"

"Oh, you want information? Look, whatever you want to know, I'll tell you, yeah?"

Mercer let out a throaty chuckle. "While I appreciate the offer, I have a much easier way of finding out what you know"

The Schnee scientist seemed curious. "Really? Whats that?"

Mercer, quick as lighting, snapped his other hand up, digging his fingers into the crooks of the scientists neck, before he gave an almighty wrench. There was a horrific tearing sound, before he spread his arms outwards. And in each hand, he held one half of the scientist. His arms seemed to liquefy for a second, separating into two columns of flesh, before each half of the scientist was absorbed into his hands in the space of a second. Mercer snapped his head back, grunting, before he stomped his foot, red energy bleeding from his hands.

He turned, ending up face to face with team RWBY. He locked eyes with Ruby for a second, eyes glowing red, before he dropped into a crouch and hurtled forward like a bullet, dashing between Ruby and Weiss at such speed they were knocked to the ground. They leapt to their feet as Mercer skidded to a stop. The four girls ran to surround him as he stood calmly, watching them. They took up positions around him. Ruby shouted:

"Who are you?"

To which Mercer responded: "Someone on a mission. And you?"

"Likewise"

"I see. And what would that mission be?"

"To find the source of the virus, and destroy it"

"Him"

Ruby was momentarily confused. "What?"

"The source of the virus. Its a him. The him your looking at"

"You caused this?" This came from Yang.

"Not purposefully. But, its served me well, I must say"

"Enough games. What do you want?" Blake asked him, weapons at the ready.

Mercer chuckled for a second, before answering:

"Justice. Or vengeance. They're very similar"

"Enough!" Yang leapt into the air, flying down towards him with one fist held high.

And Mercer stepped out the way.

Yang slammed into the ground, her fist smashing a crater into the ground. She stood, and swung another punch. Mercer snapped both arms outwards, his forearms swelling and rupturing, his fists becoming two pillars of rock hard tissue. He struck out with one fist, slamming his knuckles into Yang's, stopping her punch cold. He swung his other hand up, uppercutting her in the chin and sending her into the air. Mercer stepped forward, and as she fell, he struck her again, this time with a downwards blow that hammered her into the ground. He then jumped impossibly high into the air, coming back down on her with a brutal elbow drop that turned the ground under Yang into a spider web of cracks. He stood, turning towards the remaining three members of RWBY.

Blake attacked next, leaping forward, both blades drawn. But before she could launch her attack, Mercer slammed his fists together, causing them to shrink back to their normal size, before he crouched low, both arms becoming a network of veins, and three vicious looking claws unfolding from his hand. He pounced forward, swiping with both hands, while Blake cartwheeled to the left, leaving an after image of herself behind. Mercer slashed the image into ribbons, turning as he realized his mistake. Blake landed her cartwheel, unable to even catch her breath before Mercer was back on the offensive. She slashed wildly with both swords to fend off his rapid fire claw strikes, claws clashing with blades in a shower of sparks. Mercer leapt back, before slamming one hand into the ground. Blake leapt to the side as spikes of stone-like material emerged where she'd been standing not a second before. The jump put her off balance, however allowing Mercer to pull his hand from the ground, and pounce at her again, striking with first the right claw, and then the left, tearing her blades from her hands. Mercer then proceeded to take a step forward, and slam his forehead into Blake's, causing her to crumple to the ground.

Mercer turned to Weiss and Ruby, his claws retracting, and arms turning back to normal.

"Are we going to continue this trivial pursuit?"

Weiss didn't even answer him, instead placing a glyph beneath her feet. She used that glyph to massively increase her speed, dashing toward him in a lightning fast thrust of her blade. Mercer saw the attack coming, and tensed, before leaping up and over, flipping over Weiss and landing behind her. She continued forward aster she missed her attack, ending up on the other side of the station to Mercer. He quickly remedied that, his right arm mutating into a column of flesh, tipped with a barbed, spear like point. He jabbed forward with it, sending it snapping outwards, trailing a length of flesh. Weiss side stepped, barely avoiding the attack. Mercer realized he'd missed, and snapped his arm, causing the chain to wrap around Weiss's legs. Mercer leaned back, the chain retracting into his arm, and dragging Weiss with it. He released her a moment before his arm reached its standard length. She used the momentum from the pull to leap to her feet, readying her weapon for another strike. Mercer was having none of it. He lashed out wards with his whip, whipping her feet out from under her. Before she could hit the ground, Mercer attacked again, wrapping the rope around her wrists, before lifting her up into the air, and with a crack of his wrist, slamming her back into the ground. She didn't stand up.

"And then there was one..."

He turned to Ruby, one of his arms morphing into a horrific looking blade. Ruby gulped, before working the bolt of her weapon, and readying herself for the fight.

She swung her weapon around behind her, firing a shot, propelling her self forward, swinging the weapon up and over her head, and down at Mercer.

Who simply lifted his own blade, and blocked the strike. Ruby staggered backwards, before attacking again. And again. And again. Every one of her swings blocked by Mercers blade. Mercer watched her the entire time, an amused expression on his face.

"You...Yes, you'll do just fine..."

His muttering threw off her concentration, giving him opening to launch his own attack. He swung his weapon in a wide arc, which Ruby just barely blocked. She held him there, or at least, she thought she was holding him. That was, until, Mercer used the arm that hadn't morphed, and punched her in the chest, sending her skidding along the ground. Before she could fully rise, Mercer had grabbed her scythe, and kicked her in the stomach, sending her flying into a wall, her weapon still in Mercer's hand. She struggled to rise, dark spots dancing across her vision, until she felt a hand on her throat, lifting her off the ground, and pinning her to the wall.

"Yes, you'll do...Listen, I know you think I'm the bad guy here, but you're wrong. I have something planned. Something big. If I pull it of, it will benefit, everyone. All of the people in Vale. The same way I'm about to benefit you"

Through the dark spots, she saw the hand that wasn't holding her to the wall, transform from a blade, into something that resembled a syringe. A column of flesh, topped with a bony protrusion.

"Look, this is a gift. It may seem a curse, but it is anything but. This will make you strong. I'll need you there, beside me, when I make my move"

Yang began to stir.

"Look, I can't talk any more. I need to be out of here before she wakes up. I'll speak to you later. See you soon"

With that he plunged the protrusion into her chest. She could feel something cold flooding her veins, her vision blurring, turning red, and Mercer sprinting into the distance as Yang struggled to her feet.

_See you soon._


	3. Chapter 3: Convalescent

**A/N: Hey guys/gals, Archemedies here, back with the next chapter of this story. I just wanted to answer a few reviews I got.**

**Finnjake: Yeah, I guess they probably would have acted more strongly, I guess I screwed up, too. I'll try and remedy that in future chapters.**

**Tenwing: Thanks :D**

**Bl4nk: Thanks for the advice, I'll do the perspective thing from now on, and don't worry about the length of the reviews. In my eyes, the longer the better! (Bow-chica-wow-wow!)**

**Anyway, enjoy the chapter, fav, follow, and review if you feel like it. Peace.**

Chapter 3: Convalescent.

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

Ruby struggled awake, blinking the fuzz from her vision as she sat up. Looking around herself, as she pushed the confusion from her mind. She realized she was in the infirmary of Beacon, in a bed. She spent a few seconds trying to remember how she'd ended up there, until she was distracted by a weight across her legs, she'd been too preoccupied to notice until then. Looking down, she was greeted by the sight of her raven haired teammate slumped over her thighs, one limp hand clutching a novel, the title covered with duct tape, her other hand tangled in the sheets, her ears floppy under her bow. Ruby was torn between pushing her off, and leaving her to her sleep. She eventually decided to put off that decision, instead going back to examining her surroundings. All the beds were empty, apart from the one across from her's, in which lay a familiar blonde cloud. The source of the beeping was a machine that was connected to the body under the mass of curls. She felt a shock go through her system at the sight of Yang in the infirmary, suddenly remembering the vicious elbow drop she'd sustained at the hands (well, elbow) of Mercer.

Mercer...

As she lay back, she couldn't help but think back to his last words to her.

"See you soon"

What had he meant by that? Why had he said that? Why had he said any of what he'd said? All his talk of a plan, and her being by his side...It was worrying, to say the least. He'd said it all just after he'd...

Infected her.

She snapped straight up, almost sending Blake tumbling off the bed, but miraculously not waking her, before grabbing the hem of her hospital issue shirt and yanking it up. There.

Right in the center of her chest, straight over her heart, was a small mark, that as she watched, pulsed with a red glow, as if responding to her gaze. If he'd infected her with whatever he had, that meant...A second bolt of fear shot through her as she realized she didn't know what that meant. What if she ended up like that white fang girl, a mindless killer, doing her best to tear apart anything in her way? No, she couldn't live like that. She'd have to...

The opening of the infirmary door pulled her from her morbid thoughts. Ruby quickly pulled her shirt back down, not wanting any searching questions. She doubted it had been pulsing like that when she was taken into the infirmary, or she would of probably been put straight into quarantine. Still, it couldn't hurt to be careful.

She relaxed a little when she realized it was Weiss that had walked in. She was dressed in the standard Beacon girl's uniform, with the addition of a sling for her left arm. She was struggling to carry a tray with several cups of coffee with her right, balancing the tray with great difficulty.

"Hey, Weiss" Her voice was dry and weak, barely managing the simple greeting.

"Oh, Ruby, you're awake" Weiss seemed surprised, albeit pleasantly so. "The doctors weren't sure when you were going to wake up. Or...if you were" Ruby realized there was a lot of relief mixed in with that surprise.

"Anyway, I brought coffee...There's a cup for you to"

Ruby watched as Weiss set the tray down on the her bedside table, before taking a cup off of it and offering it to Ruby with her good hand. She went to take it, but was stopped from reaching it by the dead weight across her thighs, that was, the sleeping Blake.

"Err...Blake? Blake? Can you...Wake up? Please? Pretty please with a cherry on top? Blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake"

After much jostling and pleading, Blake finally snorted her way to consciousness.

"Ahh? Wha...What? Oh, Ruby!"

Blake snapped upright, blushing furiously.

"Ahh, I was sitting, and reading...And, I guess I fell asleep. Sorry"

"It's OK"

Blake moved her chair back a bit, so Weiss could pull a second chair over and sit by Ruby's bed. They all sat in silence, sipping their coffee, until Weiss broke the silence.

"Oh, I completely, forgot. I was planning, when you woke up of course, to congratulate you on fighting off that Mercer scum. It's incredible you managed to stop him, after us three failed. I guess there's a reason Ozpin made you team leader"

Ruby couldn't help but feel guilty for the praise, it reminded her of the fact all her teammates had been injured, one, who was also her sister, severly, and the fact that Weiss's praise was flat out wrong. She hadn't fought him off at all. Ruby distracted herself from the crushing feelings of inadequacy by asking Weiss a question that had been preying on her mind for a while.

"Weiss, Blake, I've been meaning to ask, who brought us out?"

Weiss shuddered, before answering.

"Well, none of us were in shape to move ourselves, Blake was out cold with a concussion, I was unconscious and nursing a broken arm, while Yang was the only one conscious, but she could barely stand, with several broken ribs and a shattered collar bone. After we didn't leave the station, the Schnee soldiers came in, retrieved us, and pulled us out with a bullhead. The troops came with us. With Mercer gone, there was no point losing men over a station with no strategic value"

After a second pang of guilt, Ruby then popped the question that had worried her more then the first.

"What about me? What injuries did I have?"

Blake answered as Weiss took a sip of her coffee. "Apart from some minor scrapes and bruises, and a cracked collar bone, nothing overt. But, he appeared to have...Poisoned you somehow. That was what the doctors were worried about. But the poison appears to have left your system now, or at least, that's what the doctors are saying. You should be fine. Should"

Not exactly reassuring.

"Is Yang going to be OK?"

Blake winced. "She took the worst physical pounding of any of us, but she should be fine. She just needs a couple more days of rest before they let her out of the infirmary. Which reminds me, Ozpin said the moment you woke up, and were cleared for release from the infirmary, we needed to go see him"

Ruby nodded. "Well, I feel fine"

Blake and Weiss nodded at her, before leaving the room. A few minutes later, a nurse walked in, and after a battery of check-ups, she was cleared for release, and left alone so she could change into her normal clothes, which had been placed in a small locker at the foot of her bed. She pulled them on, noting that the blood had been washed out at some point, and the small hole in the breast of her top repaired. With one last guilty look at where Yang lay, she strolled out, feeling much better now that she was in her normal gear, and finding Blake and Weiss waiting for her.

"You ready?"

"Yeah. Lets go see Ozpin"

With that, they walked down the halls of Beacon, heading for Ozpins office. On the way, they ran into team JNPR, who asked how they and were, and wished them all well. However, Blake confused Ruby, when she answered Jaune's question on how they'ed got their injuries.

"Well, there were a lot of infected inside the station, more than anticipated, and they swarmed us. We were rescued by a group of Schnee troops, but not until after we were injured.

"Oh, that must of sucked. Any way, hope Yang gets better soon. Bye guys!"

After they'ed gotten out of earshot of JNPR, Ruby asked: "Why'ed you lie to Jaune?"

Blake winced, before responding: "Ozpin asked me and Weiss not to tell any one about Mercer, said it would be better to let him handle it. Although it doesn't sit well with me, I trust Ozpin"

Ruby couldn't help but nod at that. Ozpin had never done bad towards a member of Beacon academy, so she was inclined to trust him. He was also an adult, and in Ruby's mind, adults were people to be believed. As she finished with that train of thought, she realized they'ed found their way to Ozpin's office. After knocking a few times, and getting a muffled:

"Come in"

Ruby pushed open the heavy oak door, and stepped tentatively inside, her teammates (Well, two of them anyway) coming in with her and standing at her side, as she took up a position on the opposite side of the large mahogany desk to Ozpin.

"Hello there Ruby, Weiss, Blake. I hope you're well after your encounter in the station" Ruby looked at him askance, before responding:

"Yeah...We've been getting better. Yang's still in the infirmary though"

Ozpin winced, before saying:

"Yes. Something that could have been avoided. All of your injuries could have been avoided in fact. But no one realized Mercer was in the station"

Ruby asked: "I was hoping to ask you about that sir: Who is Mercer?"

"Well, he was originally a scientist for Schnee Corp. But he, according to Schnee anyway, stole a vial of the virus that caused all this, for reasons unknown. This prompted Schnee to send a team of soldiers after him, and after they cornered him in Penn station, they shot him to attempt to stop him from releasing the virus. They were unsuccessful, and Mercer released the virus, causing the rather dire situation, and in the process infecting himself. For an unknown reason, the virus affected him differently, and rather than turning him into a bloodthirsty monster, it made him incredibly strong, fast, and durable. It also gave him the ability to shape-shift his body, forming lethal weapons, as evidenced by your fight with him, which your teammates filled me in on. However, what happened after Weiss was incapacitated remains a mystery. I was hoping you could shed light on what happened after that"

Ruby glanced around anxiously, seeing both her teammates looking at her enquiringly.

"Well...Erm. He, I mean, Mercer, beat Weiss, and then he came after me. He turned his arm into a sword thing, and then attacked me. We fought for a while, and then..."

Ruby didn't think that telling them about what Mercer said to her would be too well received. For some reason, she felt...Guilty, as if Mercer conspiring with her was her own fault...

"And then?"

"And then he turned his sword thing into, like, a pincer. And he stabbed me, and then ran off. And then I blacked out"

Ozpin gave a small humph, before he picked one of the files up off his desk, and stared at it for a few seconds.

"Tell me Ruby, have you been...Feeling, strange, lately?"

"No...Why?"

"Well, this file from the Schnee Corp says Mercer may be able to pass the contagion on to others, perhaps even granting them similar abilities to his own"

Ruby felt a drop of sweat roll down her forehead. "Err..No. I've been feeling fine. Nothing wrong"

Ozpin regarded her for a few seconds, before placing the file back down on his desk. "Well, that's good. If you feel strange, or ill, in anyway, just come talk to me, OK?"

"OK"

Ruby, Blake and Weiss stood awkwardly in front of his desk, until he looked back up, and noticed they were still there.

"You're dismissed"

Ruby and her teammates began to leave, before they were stopped.

"Oh, and I trust you understand that Mercer isn't someone everyone needs to know about?"

"Yes sir"

With that, they left, Ruby glancing apprehensively back at the oak door, as it slammed shut. She couldn't help but think that its resounding boom sounded awfully similar to that of a cell door.

That night.

Ruby lay, awake and restless, as her two other teammates slept. After they had gone to see Ozpin, they'd checked in on Yang, and been told that although she'd stabilized, she wouldn't be out of the infirmary for weeks, maybe a month. When they'd returned to their dorm, they'd received a message on their scrolls, saying they were excused from lessons for a week, in order for them to fully recover.

They'd spent a few hours just sitting in their dorm, Blake and Weiss reading a novel (The title conspicuously covered) and a text book respectively. Ruby sat on her bed and threw a bouncy ball at the wall over and over, too wired to be bored. What Ozpin had said about Mercer passing on the virus had only confirmed her worst fears. He most likely had infected her, which meant she now had his powers. What that entailed for her, she was unsure of, but Mercers words about her being by his side had struck her deep. If he though she was going to help him, he was craz-

_Plink _

Ruby snapped upright, staring at the window. Sounded like something had hit the window. When the noise didn't repeat itself, she began to lay back down, already passing it off as some random occuranc-

_Plink._

Ruby leapt from her bed, pulled her cloak from its resting place on the corner post of her bed, and crossing the room in a few strides, she threw open the window, sticking her head out, and looking around. She couldn't see anyone out there. But there definitely was someone out there. But the she heard...Footsteps? From below her? The only thing below her was a sheer wall.

She looked down just in time to see a pair of red eyes flying up the wall at her, before a hand came out of the darkness below her, catching her by the collar of her pajama top and her cloak, before she was yanked out of the window.

She tried her best to stay on the right side of the window frame, but the hand that held her was too strong, and with one pull, she came sailing out of the window, flying through the air as the person who'd pulled her back-flipped off the wall, spinning in midair. She realized the academy grounds were coming up fast, and managed to spin herself in midair, to land on her feet, even though she knew, from that height, not even her aura would help her. She prepared herself for the landing...

And was surprised when she landed hard enough to crack the concrete, in a crouch, one hand on the ground, and completely unharmed. She lifted her hand from the crater it had formed, and stared at it, as it pulsed, red energy flowing from it. She stood, and shook her hand until the glow faded, still incredibly confused as to how she'd survived. She looked up, as the same person who'd yanked her from her perch, somehow glided down, arms spread in a spread eagle position, tilting in time to land on his feet, with not even a bump. He brushed off his jacket, and stepped into the light of one of the lampposts that dotted the academy grounds.

_Clap._

_Clap._

_Clap._

"Mercer?" Ruby gasped out the name of the man who stood in front of her, clapping, a smile on his face. However, it wasn't the sarcastic smirk she was expecting, but rather an honest smile.

"Yes, it's me. Nice landing, by the way. Very dramatic"

"What do you want? Why are you here?"

With out her weapon, she didn't stand a chance against him. Hell, even with her weapon, she probably wouldn't even land a blow.

He seemed genuinely offended by her blunt tone. He took a deep breath, and began to talk.

"Look, Ruby, I know we got off on the wrong foot, what with me decimating your team and all, but you need to listen to me. I'm not the enemy here. White Eye is.

"White Eye?"

"Schnee's private security detail. They've got their own goddamn army. They do clean up for whenever one of Schnee's experiments goes wrong"

"And that makes them the bad guys because...?"

"Because of the fact that there are experiments in the first place! I used to work for Schnee, but that was until I found out what they were doing"

"What were they doing, exactly?"

"You've seen what the virus does to people, right? Well, long before the outbreak, Schnee were testing the virus on faunas, pulled from labor camps. The reason I stole the vial of the virus, was to bring it to the attention of the authority's, after I discovered what exactly they were doing. The Schnee Corp were tying up lose ends. None of them were loser then me. I was hoping I could expose the Corp before I died. Before they killed me. But they shot me down in Penn station, breaking the vial and releasing the virus. The virus turned me into what I am now, and I've passed the virus along to you"

"What are you then? And what am I? And why me?"

"We are more than human Ruby. You think a human could have survived that fall? I chose you because I hoped you would be able to help me stop evil, and do the right thing"

"What right thing!? What evil!?" Ruby couldn't help but raise her voice.

"Look, tomorrow, OK? Tomorrow, I'll take you some where, I'll show you evil. And you'll see for your self, what needs to be done"

Ruby glared daggers at him, suddenly realizing how cold and tired she was, standing outside in her pajamas. She couldn't be bothered to argue with him anymore, and, who knows, perhaps he was on to something.

"Where? I have no lessons too, so when?"

She could see Mercer flood with relief before her eyes. "One of Schnee's bases in the quarantine zone. Lets say, 2:00pm tomorrow?"

"Fine. But you better have something worthwhile to show me"

"Trust me Ruby, I do"

Ruby turned, and looked up at the window that he'd pulled her out of.

"Err..."

"Oh, right"

Before Ruby could react, Mercer had scooped her up, bridal style, and ran straight at the wall. Before he slammed into it, he lifted one foot transitioning from floor to wall in one easy movement. He ran all the way up to her window, and dropped her through it, before perching on the windowsill like a bird.

Ruby stood from where she'd fallen when he'd dropped her, and brushed herself off.

"See you tomorrow. And when I do, I'll explain everything. I promise"

"Fine. Now, get off my window sill"

Mercer had the nerve to smile at her, before he back-flipped off the window ledge, and vanished out of sight.

Ruby lay down in her bed, her teammates miraculously still sleeping, and thought to herself:

She'd go meet him tomorrow, he'd show her whatever he wanted to show her, and then she'd make her decision. She slipped her hand under her T-shirt, and put her hand on the small mark on her chest, feeling it pulse in response.

And she'd find out what he'd done to her, for better, or for worse.


	4. Chapter 4: Corporate Secrets

**A/N: Hey guys/gals, Archemedies back with the newest chapter of my story. In this chapter, I decided to experiment with a first-person perspective. I've never written in first-person before, so I'd appreciate if you could drop a review, and tell me what you think. Is it better off 3rd person? Should I keep going in first? Tell me which you prefer, so I can write to taste. By the way, sorry in advance for the little bit of darkness towards the end of the chapter. I was trying to assert that White Eye are douches, and I may have gone over board. In addition, there's a poll on my profile, if any of you like Mortal Kombat, go check that out. Now, to answering reviews:**

**Guest: That...Was a very long and interesting theory. To be completly honest, I'm kinda playing this by ear, so...I may take your theory into account? Maybe? Possibly? And I will have a distinction betwenn Ruby and Mercer, both in powers and personality.**

**FinnJake and Noob6: People are shipping Ruby/Mercer...What have I created...Also, that would be an awsom fanart, Ruby in Mercer's shirt. That should happen. I would make it, but I have the artistic talent of a mentally challanged lemon, so...**

**Bl4nk: Yet more helpful suggestions/ideas, what would I do without you? **

**Anyway, Fav, follow, review if you feel like it. Peace!**

Chapter 4: Corporate Secrets.

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

As I pushed the fog of sleep from my mind, for a moment I thought I was back in the infirmery. But as I gained my bearings, I realized that the beeping was coming from my alarm. I pushed the covers away bleariliy, before leaning over the edge of my bunk bed, reaching down and taking the alarm clock from its place on the bedside table. I jabbed my finger at the button until it stopped beeping, and checked the time.

_12:00_

What? Why had she set her alarm for twelve? Why had she set her alarm at all? She didn't have any lessons, so...

In a rush, all the events of last night came rushing back. Yang in the infirmary. My friends hurt. Mercer plotting. Now, it all just seemed like a dream. I reached heisitantly for the hem of my shirt, clutching it with pale hands.

Before pulling it up my neck...And finding my ugly, malignant wound staring me in the face, pulsing red.

I sunk back into the embrace of my bed. It had all been real. Somewhere in the haze of my mind, I remember agreeing to meet Mercer. At two. He'd said he had answers. What if I stood him up? For some reason, I don't think he'd take too kindly to me standing him up. And past that, if there's one thing I want most right now, it's answers. Not just want. Need. I need to find out what evil Mercer was talking about. What he has planned to stop that evil. And, what he'd done to me. He said he made me stronger. And he'd seemed genuine when he said it. That, combined with my fall from the window, made me wonder just what else I could do.

If I wanted to find out, I'd have to meet him. That made my decision. I checked the clock again:

_12:20_

I grabbed the side of my bed, and rolled out, landing on my feet. I took a look around my teams room, finding myself alone. I was confused for a few seconds. Yang was still in intensive care, but where were Blake and Weiss?

A flicker of white brought my attention to Weiss's bed. I walked over, and found a note, addressed to yours truly.

_Ruby._

_Me and Blake decided that having no lessons is no excuse for slacking. Me and her have decided to head down to Vale library for some studying. I was going to wake you to tell you myself, but we both knew you needed your rest. So we left you to sleep and wrote a note instead. We probably won't be back 'till late. Have a good rest._

_Weiss and Blake._

I placed the note back onto Weiss's bed. If they weren't going to be back to late, that was good. It gave me a lot of time for Mercer to show me...Whatever he wants to show me. Another check of the clock.

_12:30_

Guess its time for me to get ready for my chat with the devil.

I undressed, ran the shower, and got in. I washed, feeling relaxed for the first time since Penn station, where this fiasco began. At least, I felt relaxed until, as I was scrubbing my chest, the sponge grazed my...Mark. I shuddered, dropping the sponge and doubling over as pain shot through my body. I looked up, seeing in the mirror opposite the shower that my wound had began to bleed. Red blood, streaked with black, ran down my stomach, until, with an unpleasant tingling sensation, it stopped bleeding, pulsing red a few more times, before returning to its usual, inert self. I straightened up, carefully washing off the blood before I turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. I grabbed a towel, and wrapped it around myself, before walking out of the bathroom, going into my closet. I debated with myself on what to wear, before settling on my normal gear. It wasn't dirty, as it had been washed while I was recovering. And, I felt comfertable in it. I laid it out on my bed, along with some underwear, before drying myself off and getting dressed, being carefull about my chest in both these tasks. After that, I made a quick check of the time.

_1:30_

Wow. I'd been in the shower for far longer than normal. I decided that I might as well get going. I walked tentativly up to the window, half expecting Mercer to sprint up the wall and yank her out again. Pushing it open, I leaned out, looking down at the drop to the concrete path below. In the mid-day light, it looked even more substantial a drop than it had yesterday. I put my hands on the window sill, able to lift myself up far easier than normal. I half contemplated jumping, to see if my first landing had been a fluke. I pushed the thought away, before letting go of the window sill and turning, walking out the dorm door and taking the mundane path down to my meeting place. Or Mercer's meeting place. Depends on how you look at it.

Within the hour, I'd reached the spot, looking around and finding no trace of any god-like meglo-maniacs, much to my surprise. I pulled my watch out my pocket, and checked it, finding:

_1:50_

"No wonder he's not here. I'm early. Probably won't be here for a while"

"Wouldn't count on it"

I jumped as a voice, his voice, growled into existance not a foot away from me. I turned, finding Mercer regarding me with amusement.

"Well...I'm here..."

"I noticed"

"...So, what did you want to show me?"

Mercer gave a grunt, before walking away from her, towards Beacons airship dock.

"I need you to meet me by the quarantine barrier, downtown. We need to go past the barrier"

I began speed walking to get next to him again, walking at his side.

"But...We're not meant to go out there! It's dangerous! And I don't have my weapon!"

"What's life without a little danger, eh? You won't need your weapon. Don't worry about the infected. They can't climb. We'll just go over them"

I tried to puzzle out what he meant by that.

"What, do you have an airship?"

He gave a chuckle.

"Something of the kind. Just meet me by the barricade. I'll take it from there"

He suddenly kicked into a sprint, gaining speed quickly, and within seconds he was running as fast as me with my semblance, and with seemingly no effort too.

"Wait! Why are we going to the barricade? What are you going to show me? Damn"

I had no choice. I walked the path down to the docks, jumping on an out bound airship just as it was departing.

Within an hour, I was at the barricade. It had gotten larger since the last time I saw it. Now, rather then sand bags and wire netting, it was formed of a sheer concrete wall, several meters tall. Standing in front of it were a line of Schnee soldiers, "White Eye" as Mercer had refered to them. They cradled assault rifles, their faces obscured by their menacing gas masks. Bright blue lenses glared out at passers by from under their hoods. They all also had brutal looking blades attached to their left forearms, many of them bearing rust colored stains. I stared at the barricade for a few seconds, unsure of what to do now she'd reached her goal. That was, until my attention was drawn by a _psst_ from the alleyway next to me. I looked into the darkness, able to make out nothing. Nothing, except a pair of red eyes that flashed at me. I hurried into the alley, not wanting to stand under the scrutiny of the White Eye for any longer than nescesseray. Once I got into the alley, and my eyes adjusted, I found myself standing next to Mercer.

"All right. What is it you wanted to show me"

Mercer glanced around, before beginning to walk down the alley that ran parralel to the barricade, before turning left, and stopping in front of a concrete wall that plugged the alley, that other wise would have led straight into the quarantine zone. Finally he answered:

"A Schnee research base in the quarantine zone"

"How are we going to get past the barricade?"

He took a few steps back.

"We don't get past it. We go over it"

With that, he leapt into a sprint once more, and ran headlong at the wall. A millisecond before impact, he lifted his right foot, planting it against the wall, before doing the same with his left foot, and then continueing up the wall. He reached the top, and front-flipped over the lip. A thump from the other side signified his landing.

"C'mon, the coast's clear. Just run up it"

_Run up it? Easier said then done._

I took a deep breath, and turned, running a fair length down the alley way to give myself a decent run up. I started my run, Mercer shouting words of encouragement as I did so. Soon, I found myself running far faster then normal, and I looked down to find red energy blleding from my hands and feet. But, for the first time, the red didn't scare me. Instead, it lent me speed. I was at the wall now, and I jumped, lifting both feet to land on the wall, cracking, before I kept running, a strabge turning sensation in my stomach caused by running straight up. I reached the top of the wall all too quickly, flying straight over the edge, tripping over the slight slip, and falling back down, flailing my arms as I did so. I mentally prepared myself for the landing, and closed my eyes.

Only to stop suddenly, rather than crashing into the ground as I'd expected. I opened my eyes to find myself face to face with Mercer, eyes and lips, only centimeters away. He appeared to have caught me, bridal style, before I hit the ground.

"You OK?"

I blushed, wriggling out of his arms and onto my feet, before responding:

"Yeah, I'm fine. That was...Fun"

"It's great, isn't it? Well, don't worry, you'll get the chance to do a whole lot more of it, and, something even cooler"

"Cooler than running up walls?" I was incredalous.

"Hell yeah. Follow me"

WIth that, he turned, sprinting up the wall of one of the buildings in the alley way I'd landed, and flipping onto the top. I grinned, and followed.

We ran for minutes, and in those minutes, I found that my jumping had been drastically increased as well, allowing me to leap between buildings, literally going over the heads of the infected hordes. I leapt onto a particular rooftop, and found Mercer standing at the edge, looking at a building across the street. It was far away, and I doubted I'd be able to get to it, even with my new found jumps. Mercer turned to me, an impish grin on his face.

"This, is where it gets cooler"

With that, he leapt from the roof, making it halfway across the infected filled street before he began to fall.

"Mercer!"

I couldn't help but scream his name, almost unable to watch, sure he was about to plunge into the sea of monsters.

But then, against all logic, he spread his arms, and flew. Arms and legs open, trailing red like smoke from his hands and feet, he glided across the street, landing flawlessly on the opposite roof, before turning and waving at her, and pulling an exaggerated bow. I stared at him, mouth agape, before deciding that that was something I definately needed to try. I took a few steps back, befre sprinting forward, leaping from the edge of the roof and spreading my arms and legs as he had. I felt a strange power flow through my body, accompanyed by a strange sense of lightness. Suddenly, I jolted forward, gliding toward the opposite roof. I couldn't help but laugh as the undead below me reached up in vain, and tried their hardest to reach me. I struck the rooftop harder than I thought I would, landing with far less grace than Mercer, staggering as he looked on. I pulled myself together, feeling slightly self concious, and walked over beside him, as he gestured to something beyond the roof.

"That...Is what I wanted to show you"

There, right in the middle of the park, was a square courtyard, surrounded on all sides by a massive concrete fence, topped with barbed wire, and guar towers on all four corners. One of the walls bore an opening, covered by a sliding wire gate, presumbly for vehicles and the like. Standing on the other side of the gate, and patrolling the courtyard itself, were many White Eye troops, all bearing rifles. Mercer indicated to a guard tower on the north west corner.

"That's where we go in"

"Go in? Why would we do that?"

"Because going on in there are experiments that need to be stopped"

"But..."

"But what? They are hurting people in there. Are you really going to walk away and let that happen? How do you think this all started? People who are meant to do good-" He gave me a pointed glance. "Turning the other way"

"...Fine"

Mercer nodded approvingly, before leaping into the air, gliding over and landing on the railing of the guard tower, and dropping to the catwalk that surrounded it, pushing the door open and stepping inside, closing the door after him. I waited a few seconds, before gliding over to meet up with him.

I pushed open the door, stepping inside, and finding Mercer standing in an empty room, an assault rifle on the small table in front of him, it's owner nowhere to be found. I decided would be best if I didn't question that.

"Come on Ruby, we need to get you a disguise"

He turned and walked out of the other door of the guard tower and jumping the railing before I could ask what he'd meant. I followed him after a brief moment of heisitation, vaulting the railing and landing hard, but silently behind a strange armored truck, with a computer built into the side of it. Mercer stood in front of the computers keyboard.

"Hold here for a second. I need to show you something"

I turned to answer him after checking around, only to jump back as I found myself face-to-face with a White Eye trooper. I did the first thing that came to mind, and swung with all my might.

Only to have my fist caught by the trooper.

"Relax Ruby. It's me"

The troop released my hand and took a step back, his body rippling like liquid before he reformed, this time as a young man in a leather jacket, who I knew all too well.

"God Mercer...Don't scare me like that"

Mercer chuckled, before turning away, transforming back into his White Eye garb, and typing away at the computer. As he did so, the login screen disspeared, replaced with several pop-ups, all showing differant pictures. Some showed White Eye troops, others infected confined in cages. A second login screen appeared, and Mercer logged in, causing another picture to appear. This one bore a picture of a strange creature. It had vibrant orange skin, criss-crossed with glowing red veins. It had four limbs, the front two paws tipped with vicous looking claws. It also had a mouth full of horrifying teeth, and what seemed like the remains of a Grimm mask, boney shards protruding from it's face. It seemed to be mid-way through consumning a hapless White Eye troop.

"This is what Schnee are up to. Breeding monsters to kill the innocent. And now I need to ask you. Will you help me stop this?"

"I...I..."

"Just let me tell you Ruby, If we don't stop this here, that creature and others like it will become the weapons of a corrupt organization, and will most likely be released on innocent protesters, who want nothing more harmfull then their freedom"

"...Fine"

Mercer grinned at me, and clapped me on the shoulder.

"Great. But before we can get into the complex itself, you'll need a disguise. Wait here"

Mercer disguised him self as the White Eye troop again, before walking around the edge of the truck, and out of sight. I stood around for a few seconds, before muffled grunting reached my ears. JUst as they registered, Mercer stepped back around the edge of the truck, back in his normal outfit. He also held a struggleing Schnee troop in his grasp.

"Think fast"

With that, he pushed the troop in my direction. The man staggered forward, and as he did so, I struck out, almost without thinking. My fist left a red trail as it flew, connecting with his shoulder with a crunch, and sending him into the truck I stood by. He sunk, almost hitting the ground, before pushing himself back to a standing position, and swinging the blade attached to his left arm at me, his right arm, the one I'd punched, hanging uselessly at his side. My hand snaked out, faster than I'd ever moved before, and caught his wrist. My other hand snapped out, grabbing him by the throat and slamming him against the truck, hard enough to make it rock. I held him there, with no effort, astounded at my strength. He lifted his head, the blank glass of his gas mask's eyes staring into my eyes. I stared at him for a few seconds, before a thought kicked in.

_This is one of the people responsible for this. Not directly, but he made the decision to work for Schnee. He chased Mercer. He made him release the virus. Without this man, and the rest of White Eye, Blake and Weiss wouldn't be injured. Ynag wouldn't be in intensive care. And I wouldn't be having a FUCKING existential crisis, trying to figure out what I am!_

I looked over to Mercer, who gave me an affirmative nod. I turned back to the White Eye troop, before drawing my hand back, and slamming it forward, into his chest. Red gushed forward, soaking my hand, and standing out vibrantly against his armor. He gave a final gurgle as I grabbed hold of something solid. Suddenly, my arm pulsed, several tendrils emerging from my forearms, and embedding themselves in his then, I was _eating _him. He turned to liquid, flowing into my arm and passing through my body with a strange tingling feeling. All of a sudden, I felt both full, and hungry for more. My entire body pulsed, and suddenly, strange images were flying past my eyes, along with snippets of conversation.

_"Do gooder Hunter wannabees..."_

A picture of files on each of her teammates.

_"Can't believe we have to work with them..."_

A view down the sights of a rifle, aimed over sandbags, at hoardes of infected.

_"Ya' know, command says that little red bitch might be infected. Might have to bust some caps in her"_

She saw herself, carving through infected on the other side of the barricade, as a second voice pitched in.

_"Really? Damn. She had some moves. Genuinly thought she might have been a match for Mercer"_

_"Yeah. But we ain't killin her till I've bust my cap in her, if yah know what I mean?"_

_"No... What do you mea-Oh dude. That's sick. She looked like, twelve."_

_"Well then she gon' be tight, won't she?"_

_"What the fuck man...That's messed"_

The words and pictures failed, and I awoke to find myself on my back behind the truck, Mercer leaning over me, a look of concern on his face.

"Ruby? Ruby? Anyone there?"

"Yeah. I'm up. God...That was weird"

"Yeah. I was like that the first dude I consumned too"

I stood, with Mercers help, and shuddered, thinking back to what thhe White Eye troop had been thinking.

"You OK?"

"Yeah. Can I do the disguise now?"

"Yeah. Just...Think of yourself as someone else"

"Easier said then done"

I stood for a few seconds, straining, before my entire body trembled, and I experianced the same tingling as before. I got the feeling that something had changed, and I looked down to find I was dressed as a White Eye troop.

_No. I was a White Eye troop._

Mercer transformed too, and indicated for me to walk with him.

I walked by his side, passing by an arms container to pick up rifles, so as not to look suspicous. After some walking, and passing by several other troops, who gave us not a second glance, I began to relax. Eventually, we came to a door leading into one of the compounds buildings, which featured a hand scanner, to prevent un-authorised access. Mecre gave me a subtle nod, before walking up to it and putting his hand in the slot, as if it was the most casual thing in the world. The doors opened, and he stepped inside. The sinister looking portal shutting after him.

I walked up, and scanned my hand, expecting it to deny me entry, to trigger alarms all across the site, and bring hoardes of soldiers down on me, to whisk me away to their laboratorys for horrific experiments.

But my fears were unfounded, the doors opened, and I stepped inside.

_Once more unto the breach, huh?_


	5. Chapter 5: Disruption

**A/N: Hey guys/gals, Its Archemedies here with my next chapter, and, I don't really have much to say, so, on to the reviews!**

**Bl4nk: I think I will be staying in first person for this story, so, that's a thing. And thanks for the ideas, but I think I'll stick with the weapons idea, because I already have that planned. And as for the pairing...[REDACTED]**

**All the others (Don't be offended, Its just most of you were saying the same thing): Yeah, I think I may have written Ruby a little out of character, and that may escalate in this chapter, all though I tried to write her in character as much as possible, I get the feeling she's still a little OOC. I'll try and fix it as best I can, but there's only so much I can do D:**

**Any way, enjoy the chapter, follow, fav, and review if you want, and stay jammy. Peace.**

Chapter 5: Disruption.

I walked through the open door, following close behind Mercer, as we strolled through a long corridor, past several White Eye troops standing around in the corridor, nervously fiddling with their weapons. Mercer slowed so that he was walking by her side, before saying:

"The elevator's up ahead. That's our goal. We'll be able to access the specimen containment through it"

I followed him, beginning to feel a little bit queasy. At the time, killing the White Eye soldier had seemed the right thing to do, but know, in the dark expanse of rational thought, I was beginning to...regret it. As much as I was loath to admit it, I felt bad about it. Sure, from what I'd...Found out about him, he was a terrible person, but, did he really deserve it? I mean, did killing a bad person make me a bad person? What would my teammates think if ever told them-

"Ruby"

Mercer tapped me on the hip, in order to get my attention without the other troops noticing.

"You OK?" He whispered.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Just a little...Conflicted"

Mercer went silent for a few seconds, before putting a hand lightly on my wrist, pulling me closer before muttering:

"Don't worry Ruby. You did the right thing. No-one can say you didn't"

"But..My friends..."

"Your friends should trust your judgement. And if they don't, they aren't real friends, are they?"

"What are you two? Faggots? Get your hands off each other and move!"

This came from a White Eye troop, who neither I nor Mercer had noticed walking up behind us. Right in front of us was the elevator, and I and Mercer stepped inside, the White Eye troop and several others crowding in along with us. A synthesized voice echoed:

**Going down.**

And the lift lurched into motion, turning my stomach. The soldiers around me, and Mercer, seemed unaffected. The robotic voice came on again.

**Specimen Containment facility. **

The doors opened, and we all stepped off, finding ourselves on what seemed to be a raised catwalk, surrounding a massive, clean white room, with another elevator in one corner, and a small group of scientists standing in the center of it. All along one wall where a row of cages, most containing standard infected, seemingly gathered from all over the quarantine zone. The five cages in the middle, however, were different. They had reinforced blast doors, rather than the wire mesh that covered the other cages. In four of them, crouched the same beasts that I'd seen on the computer, even more menacing in the flesh. It was the cage, smack bang in the middle of the row, that scared me. Whatever was inside, it stood to the back of the cage, shrouding itself in shadows. It seemed to be vaguely human shaped, but significantly larger than any human I'd ever met, even Yatsuhashi. It must have stood over ten feet tall, and one arm appeared to be tipped with a strange, toothed protrusion.

A tap on my arm turned my attention to Mercer, who nodded his head at the soldiers behind him, who now stood just outside the elevator, milling about, seemingly awaiting orders. He leaned close, and whispered:

"On my signal, jump down there, and subdue the scientists. We need to destroy those specimens, before Schnee can put them too use"

I whispered back to him: "OK"

He gave me a devilish smirk, before dropping his rifle, turning around to face the assembled soldiers, and kicking the lead troop straight in the chest.

His foot let out a pulse of red energy, and the Schnee grunt flew backwards, cannon-balling into his fellow squad-mates and carrying all of them back into the elevator. Mercer stepped forward, and slammed his fist into the lift's control panel, causing the doors to grind shut, trapping the troops within. I took that as my signal, and vaulted the catwalk railing, dropping the short distance to the ground. I struck the floor, returned o my normal form, and stood up, finding myself only a short distance from the researchers. They were dressed in hazmat suits, the feature-less glass visors making them seem inhuman. I gave them my best glare, and was rewarded with several gasps.

"My god...Her eyes...The're red! Oh no...She's one of them!"

My eyes? Red?

"Too right I'm one of them"

Even as those words left my mouth, I was searching for a way to subdue them. My eyes locked on an empty, open cage in the far corner.

"All of you. In there! Now!"

The scientists were only to happy to oblige, shuffling into the cage without a another glance in her direction. Mercer dropped down from the cat walk, and walked over to a small computer on a desk by one wall. He began typing at the computer before giving an angry snarl.

"Ruby! I need that guy there! The one in the yellow suit!"

I turned my head, spotting the one he was talking about almost instantly. I walked over, and grabbed him by the collar, pushing him and sending him staggering over to where Mercer was standing, now back in his normal form, before walking over to the rest of the scientists, who had gotten inside the cage, jumping up, grabbing the wire mesh cover and pulling it down to lock them inside.

"So Mercer, what do you need him for-"

I was cut off by Mercer grabbing the man by the throat, and slamming him into the desk, the scientists neck meeting the edge of the desk with a horrible snap. Mercer absorbed the scientist, the man liquefying before integrating with Mercer. Mercer shook his head, as if confused, before muttering:

"Thank you..." And typing at the computer.

I watched the entire scene in horror, something deep inside me rebelling at what I'd just seen, the casual ending of a life.

Mercer caught me staring, and said: "Ruby, you're sympathizing with them. They don't deserve sympathy, OK? Remember that"

I snapped out of my trance, as the first of the gates opened, and the nightmare within spilled out into the clinical lighting of the room.

"Mercer!" I called, as the creature snuffled its way out of the cage, growling and snarling.

"I got it!"

Three more of the cages opened, releasing the rest of them. The four beasts stumbled out of their cages. One fixed its eyes on me, taking a few steps forward, before something sailed over my head.

Mercer slammed into the ground in front of me, one arm bearing his blade, the other sprouting vicious claws.

"Don't worry, you just stand back, and let me handle this"

As Mercer stood up straight, red energy surrounding his body, I couldn't help but admire him. The way he could stand, unafraid, in front of those beasts. He seemed more than human...

Super human.

Mercer leapt forward as one of the monsters began to run forward, ducking it's double armed swing, and spinning past it, slashing it's side with his blade as he did so. It gave a pained roar as blade poured down its side,and stumbled onward's. Mercer rushed to attack the second creature, front flipping over it, before ramming his claw into its back, causing it to scream, and slashing at its legs, separating one of them. As he spun, the beast collapsing to the ground, and launched himself at the third and fourth, the first creature he'd attacked came back to it's senses, and turned, seeing Mercer locked in combat, It zero'ed in on me as an easy target. I decided to prove it wrong.

As it drew nearer, I began to wonder how I'd defeat it. I'd made the mistake of not bringing my weapon with me on this ridiculous trip, so now, I'd have to fight it unarmed. I raised my fists, and readied myself.

I paced back and forth, the creature drawing ever closer. It stood on its back legs, and made a swing with one of its front, claw tipped paws. I ducked it, dashing forward, and slamming a fist into its chest. There was a crunch, and the beast looked down at me, and I looked up at it, stepping back, and trying the same maneuver Mercer had pulled, kicking out at it, and hitting it in the stomach, a pulse of red energy sending it skidding backwards along the ground. As it tried to rise, I sprinted forward, punching it across its elongated jaw and knocking it back down. As it lay dazed, I reached down, grabbing its head, and punching it again. And again. And again. And again.

No matter how hard I punched it, it kept trying to rise.

"That' it Ruby! Finish it off!"

Mercer shouted, currently wrestling with the one standing monster, the legless creature now missing its head, and the other beast split in half. I took heart from his comment, and looked down at the beast in my hand, its face now broken and bleeding from the force of my blows. I stared into its eyes, expecting to find some form of bestial rage. But no, in its eyes...

I saw something I could relate to. This creature hadn't asked for what had happened to it. But there was no cure for its disease. Other than the one that rested within my hands.

Its life was an affliction. And I would cure its disease.

I dug my fingers into the bony ridges of its jaw, braced my foot against its shoulder, and pulled. I felt power flooding my veins, red clouding my vision as bone creaked and snapped under my new found strength. And then, with a final, wet tear, its head came free from its body. My hands, of their own accord, snapped back to its shoulders, tendrils emerging from my forearms and embedding themselves in its flesh. I panicked for a second, before hearing Mercer.

Strangely enough, even though I knew he was several feet away from me, fighting off his own enemy, he sounded...No, felt, as though he were right beside me. I heard his whispered words as clear as day.

Don't worry Ruby. You can only gain strength. Trust me.

I blinked, before giving in, the tendrils pulsing red, and a sense of power flowing through me. It was incredible, better than I could have imagined. I felt I could take on anyone, protect anyone, fear no-one. If this was how Mercer felt, all the time, than I definitely needed to get on his level.

I stood up from the ruins of the creature, spotting my reflection in the polished floor. I looked...Vibrant. The red of my clothes glowed noticeably. My eyes had turned the same shade of crimson, standing out from my suddenly pale face, and the splatters of dark brown that adorned it. A loud thump echoed from behind me, and I turned my head to find Mercer staring at me, with obvious pride. I couldn't help but blush under his piercing gaze.

"Well done Ruby. That, was certifiably bad-ass"

"Thanks"

I ground my heel into the ground.

"Erm...What about that thing?" I said, pointing at the cage which held the shadowy silhouette.

"It would be best if we could destroy that before we left, as I don't really want to leave Schnee with that thing...No telling what it is, or what they'll do with it"

"Well, let's destroy it then" It felt odd, talking about "destroying" something, but the way Mercer looked at me when I said it was worth it.

"You think you're up to it?"

"Yeah! I mean...Yes. I'm up to it"

"Cool. We've still got sometime before a Schnee response team turns up. Let's do this"

Mercer strolled over to the computer, and typed in a few more words. As soon as he did so, the last door opened, revealing what it was that was hidden within.

The massive creature stumbled out of the cage, and I couldn't help but gasp as I lay eyes on it.

It was easily eight feet tall, and dressed in the torn remains of work trousers, a high collared top, now bearing a massive tear down the middle, cracked arm guards, and, just barely hanging on his face, a White Fang mask. He, no, it, was very muscly, its arms and legs distended, lumpy lengths of muscle. It's head lay at an awkward angle on it's neck, pushed to one side by a growth on its neck. Its right arm was far larger than its left, pulsing red. Embedded in the end of that arm, was what appeared to be the blade of a chainsaw. It was as if its hand had grown around the handle, incorporating it into its body. It took a step forward, and roared, a gargling, wet sound, that accompanied the sound of it's chainsaw tearing to life.

I took a fighting stance, and Mercer did the same.

The creature charged, swinging its chainsaw low, and I and Mercer leapt over it, landing behind it. Mercer jumped to the attack, sailing through the air, before slashing across its back with his claw. It seemed undeterred, spinning around to attack Mercer, chainsaw coming down from above. Mercer dodged, and it struck the ground, throwing up sparks. I leapt in, hurling myself into the air, before gliding forward, striking out with one foot, and hitting it in the chest. It staggered backwards, and I swung a fist into its stomach. It swung its blade around at thigh height, and I jumped over it, landing, before drawing back my leg, and kicking outwards, striking it in the chin. It gave a roar, and stamped one foot, sending out a pulse of red energy that threw me backwards, sending me rolling across the ground. Mercer launched his attack, seeking to distract it from my prone form, but was forced to duck, as it swung its chainsaw, the chain of the blade lashing out like a whip, before clicking back into place almost instantly. Mercer backed up as it repeated the maneuver, having to focus on dodging its attacks, or blocking them. Eventually, it caught him out, striking out, and wrapping its chain around his leg, jerking its arm backwards, and sending him sailing over its head, hitting the ground hard. Mercer pulled himself back to his feet, a small trickle of blood running down his face. The sight of him, bleeding, brought me back to reality.

I leapt to my feet, sprinting forward, with no idea what I was going to do once I reached it, but knowing I had to do something. I was almost upon it, and I leapt forward, slamming my fist into its back, with an audible crunch. It roared in pain, and I drew back my fist, slamming a punch into its kidney.

It shuddered, before spinning, aiming to take my head off with its saw, but I ducked, and as it swung back, I grabbed its wrist, kicking out repeatedly, slamming my foot into its chest. After I'd hit it several times, a loud crack echoed from its shoulder, and I struck again, the joint staining. After a third hit, its arm had visibly stretched, and I braced my foot against its chest, before pulling with all my strength.

With a horrible, but intensely satisfying tearing sound, its arm came free from its socket, hanging loosely in my hands, chainsaw blade still whirring.

It screamed its rage, and dropped to one knee, its remaining arm struggling to staunch the flow of blood from the stump of its arm. It stepped to its feet, staggering forward, reaching for me.

I made use of the only weapon I had, and jabbed the chainsaw-arm out in front of myself. The creature didn't stop, or even slow, instead slamming into the point of the chainsaw. The chainsaw's roar increased in pitch, and the monster kept walking, the blade digging into it's chest, until, with a sickening lurch, it burst out the creatures back, sending blood spraying. I held on to the arm, as the now familiar tendrils emerged from my arms, stabbing into the arm in my gasp, and the still writhing body. A sense of power flooded me, along with something else, a sense of change. Pictures began to fly past my vision, and words past my ears.

_Roman? Roman? Damn it human, where are you?_

The inside of a train, the walls bent and dented.

_God damn it...Can't let them catch me._

An alleyway, and a chainsaw clutched in trembling hands.

_What are you doing? You won't take me Schnee!_

Being surrounded by White Eye troops.

_You can't do this Schnee! You hear me? You can't do this! You won't!_

The inside of an operating theater. And a doctor looming into view.

_Oh, but, you see...We already have._

The visions stopped, and I came back to my senses, finding myself next to the desiccated remains of the beast, as Mercer leaned over me.

"You OK?"

"Yeah...I feel weird though"

A strange sensation was running through my arm. I looked down, to find my right arm covered in pulsing red. It pulsed several times, before, with an unpleasant stretching sensation, something emerged from the end of it.

I looked down in awe, to find a chainsaw attached to my arm.

No, attached wasn't quite the right word. I felt like it was a part of me, like it was meant to be there. I pushed myself to my feet, and Mercer backed up, as my knew weapon whirred to life, with an incredible feeling of power. I swept my arm around me, and with a thought, the chain detached, swiping around me, carving marks into the floor, before returning at my direction.

Mercer watched all this with glowing pride.

"Well done Ruby...Your first power"

"Power? First? As in, there's more?"

"If you can find them"

"Sweet"

I gazed down at my arm, willing it to normal, and watching it liquefy, before turning back to my normal arm.

"As cool as that is, I think it's about time we left"

"Why yes it is. Shall we take our leave?"

I and Mercer walked over to the other lift, transforming into our White Eye forms, before getting into the lift, and going back up to the surface.

Once we were there, we were able to make our escape in the general confusion following our departure.

One wall jump later, and we were on our way back to my dorm room. I and Mercer needed to talk.

I sprinted up the wall of Beacon, grabbing hold of the window to my dorm room as I reached it, pulling myself through the open window, and falling in a heap in the room. Hadn't quite nailed the landing yet. A low chuckle reached my ears, and I looked up from my prone position to find Mercer squatting on the window ledge like an owl. I blushed, before jumping to my feet, and brushing myself down. He climbed through the window, and stretched, his spine popping.

"So...Nice place you got here"

"Yeah...I'm just gonna go take a shower, and then I'll be back. I have a few questions I want to ask"

"No problem"

As I grabbed my sleepwear from my wardrobe, and opened the bathroom door, Mercer strolled over and sat on one of the bottom bunk beds.

A short while later, I walked out of the bathroom, in my pajamas, hair still wet.

I sat down on the bed across from Mercer, and looked at him awkwardly.

"OK...So...How old are you?"

Smooth Ruby. Smooth.

Mercer looked at me, askance, before answering.

"After all you've seen, all that's happened...You want to know how old I am? That's what's worrying you? If you must know, I'm eighteen"

I was surprised by his answer. He looked older, and if he was a Schnee researcher...

"Now, I'm guessing you want to know how I ended up working for Schnee? It's a long story...So, I'll start from the beginning"

I sat forward.

"I spent the first nine years of my life in foster care. My mother was released from prison a few months after my ninth birthday. That wasn't necessarily a good thing. I tried my best to look after my sister, Dana, and succeeded, for the most part. I took up scientific studies, hoping I could eventually support my sister, and give her all the things I never had. But it was nothing more substantial than a hope. I got my doctorate in genetics at the Atlas institute of higher learning,having been accepted earlier than most, graduating leagues ahead of my peers. Schnee recognized my potential, and were quick to snatch me up. I was moved to Vale, with monthly checks sent to my mother and sister, and became head of the White Moon project. My team was in charge of weaponizing samples given to us by the management. I worked away, until, other scientists started going missing. I did some digging, and eventually managed to find that Schnee was responsible. I did what I should have done far before then, and took a vial of the virus, seeking to expose Schnee for what they really were. But they stopped me. They thought they'd killed me"

He gave me an ominous glance.

"They were wrong. The virus saved me, and I broke free of their containment, and with no idea what to do, returned to the place it all began. Finding a downtown overrun with infected, and a team of White Eye troops. I...Defeated them...And then your team stumbled in. You know what happened from there"

I stared at him, still trying to process what I'd just heard, but was interrupted when Mercer snapped upright.

"People. Coming down the corridor"

I listened, and found I could hear footsteps, and the sound of faint voices echoing down the corridor. I was completely blank as to why I could here them. I shouldn't have been able to.

"Listen, I need to be gone before they come in. Take this"

He handed me a small computer chip.

"Put this in your scroll, and I'll be able to contact you, and vice-versa. I'll see you again soon. Stay safe"

Mercer leaned forward, and wrapped his arms around me for a second, before turning, and making a running leap out of the window. I was still staring dumbly when the door opened, and Blake and Weiss walked in.

"I can't believe you would read such tasteless tras-Oh. Ruby. You're awake! Did you sleep well?" Weiss asked earnestly. I hid the chip in the palm of my hand, before answering:

"Yeah, I just woke up and had a shower"

Blake looked at me.

"Oh, that's good. And Weiss, Ninjas of Love is not trash! It is well written and thoughtful"

"It's nothing but smut!"

As the two continued their arguing, I climbed up into my own bunk bed, suddenly realizing how tired I was, both physically and mentally.

If I'd looked in the mirror Weiss was currently primping herself in, I would have seen my eyes flash red, just once, before they closed.


	6. Chapter 6: Reflection

**A/N: Hey guys, Archemedies here with chapter six of this story. I don't know what's up with this chapter. I'm really tired, and I want to get this chapter out today, so we'll be seeing Ruby's meeting in the next chapter. Once you read to the end you'll get what I'm talking about. Anyway, this chapter goes all metaphysical at the beginning, sorry about that. Fav, follow, and review if you want, and now, to answering said reviews, arguably the best part about writing these A/N's.**

**Although I can't answer some questions, as that would spoil the story.**

**TenWing: Thank you, once again.**

**Bl4nk: To be honest, writing that scene was almost as awesome as reading it must of been. Thank you for the compliments, and yes, Blacklight is OP. Also: Stop guessing at the plot! Not that I'm going to stop you. **

**Guest: Yeah, that's what I was going for with Mercer and Ruby, although where it goes from here is up in the air. **

**FinnJake: No, that infected was not a goliath, or Ruby would be a greasy mark on the ground by now. It was the chainsaw guy from No Brakes, who fought Ruby. As for everyone finding out in the future, that's up in the air.**

**Thanks to evryone else who reviewed, and, stay Jammy.**

**Peace.**

Chapter 6: Reflection.

"Mercer? Mercer? Where are you?"

I stood in a faceless crowd, in a blank, crowded city, featureless ghosts drifting past, walking straight past me, but never coming into focus.

"Mercer? Where are you?"

"I'm here Ruby. Right beside you"

"But..You're not there..."

"Am I not?"

Sudennly, Mercer was standing beside me.

"I'm every where Ruby, every where and anyone. That is my true nature"

"But...Are you still you? I though it was just a disguise?"

"What better diguise, then a new soul?"

"That's...Weird"

"Is it? You did it. Without any heisitation, you consumed that troop, tore his soul from his body, and took it for your own"

"But..That's wrong...I killed him..."

"Is it wrong? You didn't kill him, not really. What are we, if not memories? And now, his memories live on. In you"

I was facing him now, standing there in his normal clothes, staring me in the eyes with a half-formed smirk on his face.

"I...Guess. But...If we are other people...Are we still us?"

"That all depends on how you define "Us". We are the sum of their existances, and all the people we've ever consumed, and ever will. That's what we are"

As I watched, the people around us came into focus. Many of them were White Eye troops, other's were dressed in hazmat suits. Mercer watched as they kept on walking.

"What we're doing is right Ruby. Don't you ever forget that. All these people, are people that the world is better off without...Or people better off without the world"

As he said that, a young girl, no-more than ten, walked past, dressed in a hoody, jeans, a pair of battered converse, and an oversized pair of headphones. Mercer grimaced as she walked past, watching her go with a deep look of loss.

"What we're doing isn't just good...It's nessescary. What I have planned is something that needs to be done, desperatly. It could save us all"

"But you've never said what you have planned...What is it?"

"Better you didn't know until our plan has come to fruition. Soon, Ruby, soon. Soon, it will all make sense"

"But...But..."

"Hush, Ruby...It's time we ended this discussion. You need to wake up"

He reached forward, grabbing hold of me and holding me close, resting his chin on the top of my head.

"Wake up. There's work to be done"

"No...Don't do this..."

The people surrounding us began to fade, as did the buildings. Soon, it was just me and Mercer, standing in a pure, white abyss, alone, except for each other.

"No..."

"Goodbye"

The world filled with white, and I woke.

I snapped upright, looking around myself, finging myself back in my dorm. It had been ten days days since I'd seen Mercer last.

Blake and Weiss were in their beds. But where was Yang?

_Oh yeah. Infirmary._

I got out of bed, got ready, being as quiet as I could in order not to wake my teammates, dressing in my normal school wear, taking the time to remove Mercer's chip from where I'd hidden it under my pillow and putting it in my blazer pocket, and leaving the room, taking my scroll with me. I made my way down to the deserted cafeteria, getting a breakfast bar from an automated machine that was pushed up against one wall, as the cooking staff didn't appear to be in yet. Thinking of that, I checked the time on my scroll.

_4:00_

Wow. I didn't normally wake up that early. It must have had something to do with the dream I had. With nothing else to do, I pulled the chip from my pocket, and wondered about calling Mercer. I wasn't even sure if he was up, let alone whether he'd pick up the call. With no other course of action presenting itself, other than waiting until everyone else was awake, and returning to my dorm, I slipped the chip into my scroll, and went into my contacts, to find a new one had appeared. It simply read:

**M**

I pressed the button, and the call went through, barely ringing before it was picked up.

"Hello?"

I couldn't help but feel a bolt of relief shoot through me as Mercer's voice came through the speakers.

"Hey...It's me"

"No, it's not me. Because if it was me, that would mean I was calling myself. And I'm fairly certain, that that's a sign of madness. And if it isn't, it really should be"

I sat, completly confused by his answer, and trying to make sense of what he'd just said.

"It's Ruby"

"Ah, that makes far more sense. See, now we can talk"

"...Ok...Anyway, hey"

"Hey. You OK?"

"Yeah. I woke up really early today, and since there wasn't really anything to do, I decided to call you"

"Ah, right. I hoped you were going to call me. I was going to ask if you wanted to meet up again. Say, 8?"

"That would be fine with me"

"Cool. See you then"

There was a buzz as the line went dead.

I sat in the cafeteria for another half hour, thinking about nothing in particular. Eventually, I got bored enough that I picked my scroll back up off the cable, and redialed Mercer. He picked up immediatly.

"Yes Ruby?"

"Can we meet up now?" I couldnt help but realise how whiny I sounded. Mercer didn't comment, much to my relief, instead answering in a dry tone:

"Yes, we can. Same place?"

"Yeah, same place"

"OK. Meet you there"

I stood up from my table, and went back to my dorm inorder to write my teammates a note.

_Blake and Weiss._

_I've decided to go into Vale for the day, just to get my thoughts in order. I probably wont be back until late, so don't worry about me._

_Ruby._

I left the dorm, and began the trek to my meeting place. On the way there, I stopped at one of the many vending machines and bought two cookies.

I made my way out onto the academy grounds, findng Mercer sitting on one of the park benches that adorned the paths. I walked up and sat down next to him.

"Hey"

"Hello"

We sat in silence for a few seconds, until I remembered something.

"Oh right!"

I reached into my small hip pocket, and pulled out the cellophane wrapped cookies. I put one down next to me, and held the other one out for Mercer.

"Here ya go!" Mercer simply stared at the cookie in my hand, a wry smile on his face.

"What...Don't you like cookies?"

"Yes Ruby...Yes, I do. Thank you"

He took the cookie from me, and carfully removed the packageing. I, for one, tore the cellophane off and chewed into the cookie, reducing it to crumbs in seconds. Mercer watched this in amusement, before taking a small bite of his cookie.

"I take it you like cookies?"

I blushed: "Erm...Yeah...I do"

"Hmm...Nice to know"

Mercer finished off his cookie, before standing.

"Are you ready to go?"

I bounced to my feet.

"Yeah!...Wait, where are we going?"

"Enthusiastic, are we? I don't really have anywhere in mind. I was just planning to walk around Vale for a while"

"Oh, OK!"

"Shall we do this the same way as before? You take the airship, and we meet up in Vale?"

"How do you get down though?"

"If you follow me, I'll show you"

I followed Mercer down to airship docks, and saw one of the automated airships was about to lift off.

"Run"

Mercer sprinted forward, and I followed. Just before the airship took off, Mercer leapt into the air, triggering his glide. I did the same, and we landed on top of the airship with a barely perceptable thump.

"Now, we travel in style"

I and Mercer stayed, crouched, on the top of the ship, until it stopped once it reached the Vale docks. We hopped off, landing behind one of the kiosks, and walked out into the early morning crowd. I checked my watch, which now read:

_6:30_

I and Mercer just walked for a little bit, before stopping at a streetside cafe.

"So...How are you?" Was my pitifull attempt at starting a conversation.

"I'm good"

A complete lack of conversation ensued. Mercer broke the silence first.

"More importantly, how are you? Feeling good after last time?"

"Yeah...I haven't had the chance to test out my...Weapon, yet though"

"And that's what I wanted to talk to you about. There's a Schnee operation nearby. A few infected and a couple of brawlers, the creatures we thought before, escaped the quarantine zone. Schnee have caged them up, and are preparing to move them. I was thinking...You and I crash their party"

I stared at him for a few seconds, before nodding.

"Yeah, I think we should. When?"

"How about now?"

I heisitated for a bit, before nodding once more, and standing.

We moved through Vale, sticking to alleys and and side streets, until Mercer waved me still, and leaned round the corner of the alley. He gestured for me to look, and I did so.

I found several White Eye troops and Scientists standing around several cages. There were five cages in total, three of them filled with around ten infected each, the other two holding a brawler each. Mercer nodded to me, and I put the hood of my cloak up, before we stepped around the corner, into view of the White Eye.

Mercer activated his blade, and I followed suit, focusing in my arm, until it morphed into my chainsaw. The Schnee personel noticed us, the scientists running and cowering at the far end of the alley. The soldiers raised their rifles, and before they could even fire, I'd charged, the chain detaching from my saw, and whipping out, tearing the weapons away from three troops, leaving two others to open fire. I dodged to the right, but it was't enough, and several bullets slammed into my side with a force like a dozen punches. I staggered, before righting myself, looking down to find holes punched through the left side of my shirt. I had the vague realization that I really shouldn't be standing as Mercer leapt on the troops. One soldier escaped him, and backed away, presenting an easy target. Without thinking, I lashed my chain around his waist, pulling him close, before grabbing him with my other hand, and slamming him into the pavement. He was absorbed into my arm as I felt a deep sense of strength in my stomach, and I looked down to find the red patches on my shirt had stopped growing. Images and words began to flash by.

_Sir, Is it true that there's a second Mercer running around out there?_

A briefing room, and a gruff, commanding voice.

_...Intel says that there may be someone infected with the same virus as Mercer, yes. Reports are unconfirmed as yet. If you find anyone who appears to have the same abillitys as Mercer, you are weapons free._

A White Eye troop, with commanders honours on his shoulders.

_But sir...People are saying she's only a kid? Do we really have to kill her?_

The same commander, looming closer.

_You have to do anything I tell you to do, maggot! I don't care if she's a three year old with a teddy bear and a floral dress, I tell you to shoot her, you will shoot her on sight, Understand?_

_Yes sir._

I looked up to find Mercer walking towards me, soaked in blood.

"You OK?"

"Yeah. Should we deal with the infected now?"

"Yes. We should"

I and Mercer walked to the cages, and I regarded one for a second, before l sliced my chain through the cage, and the infected inside. Mercer destroyed the other infected with his blade, cutting through the wire mesh as if it were paper.

We walked over to the brawlers, and they snarled and growled at us from within their cages. Mercer turned his arm into the same whip like construct he'd used to fight Weiss, and slashed the locks of the cages. The brawlers burst free, one sprinting for Mercer, the other throwing itself at me. I left Mercer to deal with his, and focused on my opponent. It paced from side to side, staring at me with blood red eyes, and I stared back with eyes, that when I caught them in the visor of one of the scientists, glowed the same color. It leapt, and I raised my saw, sliding under it, and slashing across it's stomach at the same time. It hit the ground and rolled, and I slashed out with my chain, catching it across the knees, and causing its legs to fold under it. As it hit the ground, I leapt forward, swinging my saw and catching it in the throat, the saw teeth skidding for a moment before biting deep, and tearing through, letting its head drop to the ground.

I looked over and saw Mercer was finished with his brawler, and walked over to join him.

"Now what?"

"Now, you need to come with me. There are some people I'd like you to meet"

With that, he nonchalantly walked off down the alley, leaving me to scramble after him.

"But where are we going?"

"Somewhere just for people like us"

"People like us?"

"Yes, Ruby"

"But...Mercer..."

"Alex"

"What?"

"Alex. My name is Alex"

And off I strode with Alex, into the dawn.


End file.
